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Akadama or Moler Clay?

Henry

Henry

Member
Joined
20 Mar 2013
Messages
899
Location
Salford
I've been using Sophisticat Pink, but the grain size is too large. Plants seem to like it but its a pain to plant in. Time to change (again).

As above, really. Does one have benefits over the other, or are they basically the same thing? All of the websites that supply moler clay show pictures of an off white grit, whereas Akadama has an orange/brown colour. I presume this means they differ in composition.
 
I have thought about it, but I'm not too chuffed with the idea of trying to get it into similar sized pieces. I get the feeling I'll end up with a lot of powder and a lot of chunks, but not much usable stuff inbetween. For the negligible cost, I'd sooner buy the right stuff in bulk.
 
At £3.50 for 5l of cat litter and about £10 for 15 litres of Akadama/Moler clay, it wouldn't be worth sifting. It's more work than I'm inclined to, especially since it took me about 2 hours to wash the scent out of the litter :banghead:
 
Akadama is not as robust as cat litter / moler clay so will eventually crumble. Cat litter is moler clay.

There's a link early in my 259 journal somewhere for a bonsai place that does cheap, smaller grain moler clay. Great stuff: same as tesco cat litter but unperfumed and sifted already.

I'd make sure I put a good sprinkling of Osmocote underneath in any new tank now though.
 
Nice tank by the way. Some very interesting methods going on in it :thumbup:
 
Well, I bought 30 litres of the stuff, and WOW did I overestimate! 30 Litres is absolutely bloody loads!

I couldn't be happier with my purchase; its the right colour, the right size, and it was an absolute bargain considering what I could have spent on specialist substrates. I just need everything to grow in now, then I'll get some proper pictures up. For now, this is how it looks half an hour after filling:

20130405_175003_zps20a4d38e.jpg
 
Never mind banking, I have enough to fill the entire tank! I'm glad I bought plenty though; its only a matter of time before someone catches on and puts the price up.

Still can't believe how little washing it took, and how quickly the water has cleared up.
 
Hi Henry

Did you use moler clay or cat litter?? What is on the top, the reddish brown stuff?
How much do you reckon is needed per square foot at average depth?

Good looking tank
 
The substrate in the picture is moler clay. This is the exact stuff I bought Kaizen Bonsai-Bonsai Mart, Bonsai Trees-Bonsai Tools-Bonsai Pots-Bonsai Gifts-order bonsai supplies online. The dark area underneath is just a shadow; I used this substrate on it's own. Plants root really well in it since flow through the substrate is excellent.

The 30L bag has been enough to do my 30"x15" tank, and my 30"x12. There's still about 5 litres of it left! For the price, you may as well buy the biggest bag you can store.
 
Is it ok to put fish in with moler clay, or does it need gravel/sand on top, and if so do you use some sort of retainer to stop it mixing?
 
I saw other substrate products on bonsai websites which appear on here too, will they all be cheaper from bonsai rather than aquatic sites?
 
The moler clay is fine with fish. I think it raises GH or KH slightly, but I've never had any problems. No need to cap. If you're dosing the water column, there isn't much need to use anything else. Just give it a good rinse and put it in there!

The moler clay on the bonsai link I posted above is about as cheap as you can get. A lot of the more expensive specialist aquarium substrates are made of very similar material, but enriched with nutrients. As I say, this isn't strictly necessary if you're dosing the water column (especially with EI dosing). For the price, it is the best substrate going.
 
After reading one of your threads, I am of the impression that what I've said above may go above your head (if I'm wrong, forgive me).

If you're wanting a simple planted setup, sprinkle some osmocote (available from the garden centre) onto the bottom of the tank (roughly 1 every square inch or so) then put 1 1/2 - 2 inches of moler clay on top of it. In a low light tank with undemanding plants like Cryptocoryne and Hygrophila species, this will be more than enough to keep your plants happy.
 
No, I did follow it. Looking at other posts helped, although I undetstand it I don't really want to be doing anything too complicated, just nice plants and a few fish, but I don' t want to set off on the wrong foot , hence the plea. Many thanks
 
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